Dennis starts customer publishing arm

Dennis Publishing is to launch a customer publishing arm under the creative watch of former Maxim editor Derek Harbinson to produce print and digital magazines for businesses in a bid to create new revenue streams.

The new subsidiary, Dennis Communications, which will sit alongside the firm's traditional consumer publishing division and focus on producing traditional print and digital customer magazines, which will offer bespoke video footage, moving imagery and editorial.

Dennis said new digital formats would allow increased interactivity for readers and "ultimately create a more engaging editorial product".

The division will be headed by Tim Farthing, formerly group ad sales manager of Maxim, who will take the role of commercial director.

Harbinson, who edited Maxim until August last year and previously edited Loaded, as well as being part of the launch team for Nuts, will take on the role of editorial director.

The Dennis Publishing chief executive, James Tye, said: "Launching Dennis Communications is yet another way Dennis Publishing is capitalising on its strengths in digital media, by applying our experience to a different, fast growing sector.

The firm said digital magazines would use online tracking tools to measure variables such as consumption time, click-through rates and consumer response to offers.

Dennis said digital formats also meant that design styles could be altered within any one issue of a magazine in order to suit different demographics.

The publisher last year created a series of digital magazines for Ford and PlayStation.

Dennis said the success of these projects, together with its digital lifestyle magazine, Monkey, "proved the format and functionality works for clients" and led to the decision to launch the new division.

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